After suffering a stress reaction in his elbow last July, and then a lat strain in February, Garza hasn’t pitched in any kind of competitive game in nine months. It’s time to get back out there. On Friday, he’ll begin his minor league rehab assignment at A-ball Kane County. Garza is expected to throw about two innings (or about 30 pitches, I’d guess) as he starts stretching out for the season.

You can think of this process as Garza’s Spring Training – he’d throw about two innings in an initial Cactus League start, too – so we’re about a month out from his return, give or take a week. Players always say Spring Training is longer than they need to get ready, so we’ll see how that holds up with a rehabilitating player. If Garza goes every five days, starting on Friday, he’d throw again on April 24th (would have to be another affiliate, though, as KC is off), April 29, May 4, and May 9. At that point he’d have five “Spring Training” starts under his belt. Most starters got in six Spring starts this year, but, remember, Spring Training was longer than usual this year because of the World Baseball Classic. It seems like a fair bet that the earliest we’ll see Garza back with the Cubs, then, is right around May 14/15/16. That assumes no setbacks. Anything before that time is a bonus.

If you were looking for an excuse to check out the new A-ball affiliate, this is a pretty good one. The intimate setting and the Friday night atmosphere will make for a pretty fun time to get to see Garza up close. The Cougars posted about Garza’s start on their Facebook page, so you can check that out for details on tickets.

Get In Touch

Site Archives

Site Archives

Disclaimer

In addition to news, Bleacher Nation publishes both rumor and opinion, as well as information reported by other sources. Information on Bleacher Nation may contain errors or inaccuracies, though we try to avoid them. Links to content and the quotation of material from other news sources are not the responsibility of Bleacher Nation. Photos used are the property of Bleacher Nation, are used with permission, are fair use, or are believed to be in the public domain. Legitimate requests to remove copyrighted photos not in the public domain will be honored promptly. Comments by third parties are neither sponsored or endorsed by Bleacher Nation.

Bleacher Nation Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Bleacher Nation is a private media site, and it is not affiliated in any way with Major League Baseball or the Chicago Cubs. Neither MLB nor the Chicago Cubs have endorsed, supported, directed, or participated in the creation of the content at this site, or in the creation of the site itself. It's just a media site that happens to cover the Chicago Cubs.

Bleacher Nation is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.